Computer crimes,ethics, and privacy Research Paper

Computer crimes,ethics, and privacy - Research Paper Example The advent of computers and internet in our daily life has given rise to computer crimes, illicit activity that is carried out by the help of computers, and these crimes have had a ponderous impact on the moral values of the people, especially adolescents. In this paper we will attempt to highlight some computer crimes and explain how these crimes give rise to ethical issues. Also a detailed discussion will be made on the breach of privacy through computer crimes. The paper talks about computer technology and ethical issues it poses therefore it is perfectly related to the chapter. Computer Crimes Computer crimes are formally defined as crimes that involve a computer and a network (Moore, 4). Crimes that are carried out by the help of a computer or where computer is the target also come under computer crimes. The word cyber crime is also used interchangeably for computer crime. The most common of computer crimes include identity theft, financial theft, spamming, and breach of privacy . There has been seen a surge in cyber crimes mainly due to the increasing reliance on computers and network. Almost everything is run by computers these days and therefore can be targeted by cyber criminals. Malware (short form for malicious software) is the most prevalent form of computer crime where a person controls a computer by planting some malicious code. The attacker can install or plant the code on a system and then can enjoy great access to the computer without authorization of the user (Skoudis & Zeltser, 2). Common types of Malware include Virus, Trojan, and Worm. Malwares are used to gain access to computers, sometimes just for fun. They can delete important files and can also slow down the speed of the system. Identity theft is another computer crime that can make life of a computer user miserable. The effects of this computer crime are more ponderous than Malware as it can financially hurt the individual. Identity theft involves stealing information of extremely pers onal nature in order to use it for some benefit. Mainly hackers try to gain access to bank account passwords, credit card numbers etc to steal money from the users. The crime of identity theft is extremely prevalent and many people lose their money on a daily basis as a result of it. E commerce has given users opportunity to shop online using credit cards and online merchant accounts. This has in turn increased the chances of identity theft. Other computer crimes include cyber stalking, spamming, and child pornography. Cyber stalking refers to the use of internet for stalking purposes by using personal information of a person. Cyber stalkers use internet to repeatedly harass a person and therefore it is listed as a computer crime (Pot, 1). Spamming refers to the bulk messages that are sent to users. These are unwanted messages that fill the inboxes of users. Spamming is a big business for many people and causes problems for users. Child pornography is also propagated through interne t and it is a serious offense. Children are left vulnerable because child pornography has become a business today through internet. Ethical Issues Involving Computer Crimes Computer crimes pose many ethical issues for the society. The main problem of computer crimes is that they are mostly conducted by teenagers or young people in general. This has posed many problems for the society at large. Younger generation is the

The Influence of Japonism in Van Gogh's Works Essay

The Influence of Japonism in Van Gogh's Works - Essay Example Van Gogh was an enthusiastic buyer of Japanese prints, most of which he acquired from the shop of a man named Bing, a Paris-based dealer who specialised in Japanese art. Later, in the South of France, Van Gogh wrote his brother Theo (who was in Holland) to describe the reasons for his love for the art of Japan. He told Theo that Japanese art makes us â€Å"happier and more cheerful.† It is an art of great simplicity, for the Japanese artist can find beauty in â€Å"a single blade of grass† and can create pictures rapidly, â€Å"with a few confident strokes.† Van Gogh particularly admired the prints: â€Å"Japanese prints, coloured in flat tones, are admirable†. Many of Van Gogh’s own paintings contain allusions to Japan. For example, Japanese prints are depicted in the background of his portraits of Pà ©re Tanguy and Self-portrait with Bandaged Ear. Some of his paintings are very â€Å"Japanesey† in their subject matter, for example Branches of an Almond Tree in Blossom. But more important was influence which the Japanese prints had on the actual style of Van Gogh’s work. At first sight, his painting Emperor Moth has no obvious connection to the art of Japan, but if we examine it more closely we can see how deeply Van Gogh had absorbed Japanese aesthetic principles. He told Theo that he had encountered â€Å"a rather rare night moth called the ‘death’s head’, its coloration astonishingly distinguished: black, grey, white, shaded, and with glints of carmine or vaguely tending towards olive green†.... What also strikes us about the painting is its bold design and draughtsman-like qualities. The forms are edged with hard outlines, like the forms in a Japanese print. The painting has a decorative and semi-abstract quality, possibly reminding us of Japanese textile patterns, while the wings of the moth could almost make us think of the patterns on a kimono. The earlier letter to Theo had praised the â€Å"flat tones† of Japanese prints, and the painting is basically a flat design, without much perspective depth. The letter to Theo praised the rapid, calligraphic brushwork of Japanese painting, seen here in the rapid delineation of the grasses and the leaves. Van Gogh had also written to Theo about the Japanese love of nature and simplicity, seen here in his own painting of a single moth, set against a background of plants. Hokusai – most famous for his print of The Great Wave at Kanagawa - was a Japanese printmaker whom Van Gogh much admired, and we could compare Van Go gh’s Emperor Moth with prints like Hokusai’s Irises and Meadow Cicada and Hibiscus and Sparrow, which depict details of nature (illustrated in Fahr-Becker 154-155). Hokusai wrote that he wanted to understand â€Å"the nature of birds, animals, insects, fishes – the vital nature of grasses and trees† (Stanley-Baker 192), which reminds us of Van Gogh’s paintings of butterflies, clumps of grass, lilacs and irises, all of which he painted around the same time as his moth picture (McQuillan184). It is important that Hokusai devoted a great deal of attention not just to flowers but also to their stems and their leaves. This can be seen in Van Gogh’s Emperor Moth painting,